18 The Knights’ Sacred Mountain (II)

"If you want to court death, I don't mind helping you join the one who just passed away." Li Xin's cold voice was full of murderous intent.

The two robust men were also Warriors; the first one held a greatsword and the second one had a sword and a shield. Looking at Li Xin, they showed uncertain faces. They knew that they couldn't intervene before. Long Haochen had just killed Luo Sai Hu in a duel, so even the City Guard did not have the right to interfere.

The warrior that held a greatsword shouted in anger, "My third brother merely joked a little, but that little kid killed him. Is that your knight's kindness?"

The first of these warriors was a 3rd step, 2nd rank War Master and the second was a 2nd step, 8th rank Warrior. Although together they didn't fear Li Xin, they couldn't disregard the Knight Temple backing her.

Li Xin said, full of disdain, "Are you blind? My brother is a Retribution Knight, not a Guardian Knight. The Retribution Knight's norm is to get rid of their enemy, and knowing my little brother's temperament, if not for your companion speaking horribly to him, how could he have possibly lowered himself to kill him? If you are not convinced, then come at me at the same time."

As she was speaking, the pair of long swords in Li Xin's hands ran through a series of strange paths as thin golden energy gushed out from her body.

Lulu~

With an extended sound, that strange light took the form of a tall and robust horse with a pair of wings coming out from its back.

The winged horse was of an extremely rare pink color. Its body was 2⅔ meters long and 2 meters tall. The wings coming out from its back were not very wide, it looked as if they didn't enable it to fly. At some place atop of its head, something stuck out. Its eyes were rose-colored, and a strong fragrance came from its body. Both rose-colored eyes gave a dignified feeling.

Li Xin mounted on the horse's back and looked at the two warriors with eyes full of contempt and disdain.

Li Xin's nickname, Hell Rose, came from that horse, a young, fully rose-colored unicorn. Even if it was not fully grown yet, it was still a real 5th step magical beast. Against it, a 3rd or even a 4th step warrior wasn't a worthy opponent. To begin with, even humans of the same step weren't a match for magical beasts.

"As expected, she's a knight from the Knight Temple!" exclaimed the man holding a shield. Both exchanged looks and didn't say anything else. They then swiftly fled while carrying their companion's corpse.

A lot of nearby adventurers commented in a low voice, "Those guys were undoubtedly outsiders for not knowing the greatest genius of Haoyue Hall, Hell Rose. Serves them right. But she's still…"

"Elder Sister!" Long Haochen was standing by Li Xin's side that whole time. What was strange, though, was that, after having killed someone, his face didn't show the slightest change.

Li Xin descended from the Rose Unicorn, and smilingly said, "Little idiot, why did you come to the Adventurer's Guild in the first place?" She had previously asked someone from the guild about Long Haochen because she wasn't at ease with letting him go alone to such a snake-nest-like place, so she followed him and came at just the right time to see the previous scene.

Long Haochen answered, "Teacher wanted me to accept a 2nd step mission."

Li Xin answered, somewhat speechless, "That teacher of yours must really trust you. Let's go. I'm coming along with you."

Entering once more into the Adventurer's Guild, the looks the adventurers gave Long Haochen changed. Not to mention about the powerful sister by his side, the display he gave by killing that axe-wielding Warrior in a few seconds showed that his strength was, without a doubt, a Standard Knight's.

They didn't know about Divine Obstruction, but looking at Long Haochen's age, they guessed the Knight Temple ought to protect such a treasure. They didn't dare act rashly anymore.

"Knight, Senior Knight, I have to give you back your badge." The girl who was behind the counter advanced hurriedly as soon as she saw them come in, and respectfully gave Long Haochen his badge back. After she took a look at that badge, she immediately ran out and saw the whole fight from afar. The current gaze she gave Long Haochen was full of curiosity.

Now that he had taken care of the matter, Long Haochen chose a mission that was north of Haoyue City that consisted of killing ten magical beasts of the second rank.

"Little Brother, let me come with you, or else I won't be at ease. Although there aren't any high step ranked magical beasts around Haoyue, there are still 3rd step ones and, sometimes, even 4th step ones can appear. Plus, you will be able to go faster if I come along."

"I can't, Elder Sister. Teacher wanted me to accomplish this mission alone."

"What's the problem? You will be accomplishing it alone! You will be killing magical beasts while I will only be in charge of making sure that you are not caught off-guard by others. Now that it's decided, let's go."

As she spoke, Li Xin pulled Long Haochen out of the Adventurer's Guild and immediately left the city on the Rose Unicorn.

Long Haochen was very excited as this was the first time he was riding a mount.

The Rose Unicorn's back was very smooth, and Li Xin was right behind him. He could smell a thin scent of roses but didn't know whether it was coming from Elder Sister, or the Rose Unicorn.

They both left quickly. Long Haochen was surprised that, as they were leaving the city, not only did Li Xin not stop at all, but in addition, she was saluted by the guards at the entrance.

Once they left Haoyue City, the Rose Unicorn accelerated even further, shaking Long Haochen who discovered a red radiance coming out from the Rose Unicorn's body that was clearly raising the temperature nearby and increasing its speed. However, he didn't feel any pressure from the wind because of the protection of the red barrier. The Rose Unicorn's wings would often stretch out, making it more steady: the travel speed was as fast as a flying engine's.

"So fast! Elder Sister, your mount is awesome. How can I get such a mount?!" Long Haochen was, after all, still a kid. How could he not be excited by that kind of new sensation?

Li Xin smiled. "If you answer one question, I will tell you."

Long Haochen said, "Please ask, Elder Sister."

"Was that the first time you killed someone? If it was, why weren't you disturbed about it after that? I have never forgotten the pain of the first time I killed someone; I threw up for three days and three nights!"

Long Haochen scratched his head, and said, "I haven't killed anyone else before, but I have killed magical beasts. Teacher said that killing foes was just like killing magical beasts: I cannot show the slightest mercy and as long as they aren't dead, I cannot relax. Since he was like a magical beast, why should I feel uncomfortable? I have killed many magical beasts. And after I delivered the last blow, I didn't take a single look at his appearance."

Actually, he didn't know himself that, because of the bitter training in the owl-ants' nest, his fear of that kind of situation was now nonexistent.

Li Xian couldn't help but react. "I really don't know if you are extremely pure-hearted or cold-blooded. But it is as your teacher said, evil must be completely eradicated."

Long Haochen was truly eager to have a mount as good as the Rose Unicorn and anxiously asked, "How did you acquire this Rose Unicorn‽‽"

Li Xin answered, "Don't be in a hurry. In fact, even if I didn't tell you, you would still know in the future. Because, like me, you will need to go to the Knights' Sacred Mountain to choose a suitable magical beast."

"What kind of place is the Knights' Sacred Mountain?"

"In our Temple Alliance, the vast majority of knights have to select a mount or tame a magical beast to serve them as a mount. But, there is an exception. It is regarding exceptionally gifted young knights. Those who pass the Genuine Knight examination before hitting twenty years old, and thereby becoming a 3rd step, 1st rank knight, have the qualifications to enter the Knights' Sacred Mountain. You are a 10-year-old Standard Knight, so you should have no problem becoming a Genuine Knight before hitting twenty years old."